Tom Kostopoulos
Canadian | birth_date = | birth_place = Mississauga, ON, CAN | draft = 204th overall | draft_year = 1999 | draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins | career_start = 2001 | image = Tom Kostopoulos.png | image_size = 225px }} Thomas Kostopoulos (born January 24, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kostopoulos previously played with the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Kostopoulos is of Greek descent. Playing career In his early years, Tom graduated from Fairwind Senior Public School in 1993. After playing much of his minor hockey in the GTHL with the Toronto Marlboros and Mississauga Reps, Kostopoulos played 1 year with the Brampton Capitals of the OJHL (OHA). He was a 2nd round pick (18th overall) in the 1996 OHL Priority Selection by the London Knights. Kostopoulos was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. Before that he played junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. He made his professional minor-league hockey debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. Kostopoulos made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2001-02 season and enjoyed his best season so far with Pittsburgh in 2003-04. During the 2005 off season, he played with the Manchester Monarchs, having signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Kings. On July 3, 2007 he signed a free-agent contract with the Montreal Canadiens. Kostopoulos is known as the team joker in the dressing room. He once sewed someone's keys inside their pocket.Brian Cazenuve, "Streaking Ducks, sinking Sens and other notes", 'Inside Hockey', November 8, 2006. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/brian_cazeneuve/11/08/news.notes.color/index.html The joker stories from the team are not limited to this; in fact there are numerous other stories that have surfaced around the team. Kostopoulos's nickname during his tenure for the London Knights was "Tommy Non-stopoulos" due to his extraordinary on-ice work ethic. On January 22, 2008, he recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in a 8-2 victory against the Boston Bruins. His fight victim was Shane Hnidy. On November 10, 2008, Kostopoulos was suspended for three games for a hit on Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Mike Van Ryn during the game between the teams on November 8. He was given a boarding major penalty and ejected from the game. Kostopoulos will also forfeit US-$ 33,000 in pay. Kostopoulos responded about the incident by saying," First and foremost, I sincerely regret the injuries suffered by Mike Van Ryn...this is an unfortunate turn of events. I was just trying to get in on the forecheck and get the puck. I didn't anticipate him turning and couldn't stop. I was trying to finish my check and obviously it did not end up well. I never intend on injuring another player. I feel bad. I hope he is going to be all right and resume playing as quickly as possible." NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell said in announcing the suspension that while Van Ryn was not in a defenseless position, his injuries—including a concussion--were significant enough to warrant suspending Kostopoulos.Zwolinski, Mark. Van Ryn hit puts more heat on NHL. The Toronto Star, 2008-11-11. Personal life Kostopoulos was born in Mississauga, Ontario, on January 24, 1979. He named his brother Chris, a coach in Texas, as his biggest influence in hockey. He and his wife Lisa have two children: Lily and Luc. They spend their offseasons in Oakville, Ontario. He is of Greek descent, and in 2008 was the grand marshal of the Hellenic Community of Montreal's Greek Independence Day parade. Kostopoulos is involved with the Canadian Cancer Society as well as Garth Brooks' Teammates For Kids Foundation. On February 11, 2008, Kostopoulos and teammate Ryan O'Byrne were arrested outside a Tampa, Florida nightclub following a purse-snatching incident. While O'Byrne was charged with theft, Kostopoulos was charged with resisting the officers. Both were released on bail shortly after. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=229398&hubname= On February 22, Tampa police dropped the charges against Kostopoulos following a letter of apology written by him and that he also promised to perform community service. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=230326&hubname= Career statistics References External links * * Category:Born in 1979 Category:Calgary Flames players Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Carolina Hurricanes players Category:London Knights alumni Category:Los Angeles Kings players Category:Montreal Canadiens players Category:Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players